Playing with Matches
by S. Solstace
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin's youngest victim has finally come back to haunt him. Her weapon of choice? A box of matches. (Formerly titled Striking the Match)
1. Chapter 1

_This idea has been wrattling around in my head for a long time; so I hope it's alright!_

_I do not own the story of the Little Match Girl, or Once Upon a Time._

_ANYWAY, on with the story!_

Chapter one

The sky was pitch black, as dark storm clouds rolled, slowly and silently, over the little town of Storybrooke. Thunder rolled in the distance, and lighting flashed, teasingly, though not a drop of rain fell. Most of the people of Storeybrooke were at home, preparing for a storm.

Mr. Gold, or Rumpelstiltskin, as he was better known, was possibly the only person in Storybrooke who wasn't at home. He was alone, in his small pawn shop, which was now closed.

The store was lined wall-to-wall with strange trinkets; many of the objects were not what you would find in your average pawn shop. Many had certain magical characteristics, and many, if not all, of which did not, and had never, belonged to him, but that was beside the point.

Mr. Gold was busy shelving yet another strange object, when he heard a strange, high pitched, sing-song voice from somewhere in the shop.

_Matches..._

"Hello?" He asked, into the empty shop. He shook his head "it must have been the wind."

_Matches...please buy my matches..._

"Is someone there?" He asked. The door swung open

"Are you Mr. Gold?" Said a feminine voice.

"Yes, but I'm afraid the store is..." he turned and saw a young girl standing near the door. "...Closed."

_That, is very odd._ He thought to himself. He knew well that most people in Storybrooke told their children to "stay away from Mr. Gold; he's a bad man."

This girl looked to be anywhere between ten and twelve years old. She was short, and skinny with long blonde hair drawn, tightly, into a single braid. She wore a white dress under a brown, tattered shawl, and, most shocking of all, no shoes to speak of.

"It's very late; do your parents know that you're here?" He asked.

"No" said the girl, innocently, as if that meant nothing to her "I don't have any parents."

"An orphan..." he muttered.

"But, that's not the point" she said, brightly. "I'm here to talk to you."

"What is it?" He found this entire conversation to be quite strange.

"I just noticed that it's very dark in here" she said. She pulled a small box out of her pocket "would you like some matches, sir?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I have no need for matches" said Gold, he soon realized the significance of what she had just said. "What did you say?"

"I said, would you like some matches, sir?" He had seen this girl before. His eyes widened, ever so slightly,

"You're dead" said Gold "I saw you die..." She removed a match from the box and struck it, holding it tauntingly in front of her own face, revealing a long, ugly scar. "What's your definition of dead, Mr. Gold?"

She dropped the match.

The fire did not slowly eat at the wood of the floor, it immediately flared as if the girl had dropped not a match, but a small explosive. Gold watched the fire burn for a second, and looked up at the girl; her face bore a crooked grin. She wiggled her fingers at him "goodbye, Mr. Gold." She turned on her heel, exited the shop, and screamed at the top of her lungs "fire!" She then ran off as quickly as she could, so that no one would see her.

Shouts of "fire!" and "over at the pawn shop!" Echoed through the streets as the entirity of the town gathered around the small shop, waiting and watching. It was at that moment that the heavens opened, and rain began to fall.

* * *

_Ah! Such a relief to finally put some of this story on the page! I know it's short, but I don't have much time to write today!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews! _

Chapter two

Sirens blared as the town's only working fire engine made it's way down the street. "Out of the way!" One of the firemen shouted, as they pointed hoses at the fire. Emma Swan stood outside of the small pawnshop as the fire slowly died. _Gold's lucky it's raining, _she thought.

"Emma!" she turned to see Ruby, or Red as she was sometimes called, quickly walking up to her.

"I heard someone screaming, what happened?" She asked, glancing at the smoldering shop.

"I don't know, I wasn't here when the fire started." Said Emma, "it's mostly on the inside of the building now."

"I didn't know that Gold liked to play with matches" muttered Ruby bitterly "where is he anyway?"

"No sign of him." Said Emma

"Where is he!?" A voice shouted, "Is he alright?" The young woman frantically rushed from person to person asking the same question.

"Belle!" Shouted Ruby, the woman looked around "Belle!" Ruby shouted again. Belle saw Ruby and ran towards the two of them,

"Ruby, what happened, what's...?"

"Belle, calm down, I'm sure he's fine..." said Ruby, placing her hands on the shorter woman's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

An ambulance had finally arrived, the door to the shop creaked opened, and a man with a cane stepped out.

Belle looked up and sighed with relief, she ran towards him.

Emma and Ruby glanced at one another, and followed behind her.

"Rumpel, are you alright?" demanded Belle

"I'm fine, Belle, I'm fine..." He muttered, lost in thought.

"Hah, oh no!" Exclaimed a man in a paramedic's uniform, walking purposefully up to Mr. Gold "let _me_ be the judge of that!" The paramedic pointed at Gold's right hand, which was bright red and blistering "that, sir, is at least a second degree burn, possibly a third, and it _will_ have to be treated." He clapped his gloved hands together "come on, let's go!"

"Go on" said Belle, "I'll meet you at the hospital, okay?"

Gold nodded and gave Belle a quick kiss.

"Miss Swan!" Emma turned away from the small group and saw a rather portly fireman rushing towards her, heaving as if he had run several miles.

"Hello..." she said, trying to remember this man's name

"Jasper Davidson."

"Hello Mr. Davidson." Said Emma "so, is the fire out?"

"Yeah." Said Jasper "I'm just glad it's raining, or that fire could have been blazing for an hour or so instead of just a few minutes; that shop had its fair share of flamamble knick-knacks."

Emma nodded "so how bad is the damage?"

Jasper thought for a moment, stuck out his bottom lip and nodded, "bad, but it could have been a lot worse. Portions of the floor look like charcoal. Most of the objects in the glass cases and filing cabinets survived, but most of the objects were at least a little singed. It's going to cost Mr. Gold a pretty penny to fix this place up" -He said this with a slight hint of glee in his voice "-but he's a rich man. I never liked him very much anyway..." Jasper took a deep breath "but that's not why I'm talking to you. I'm here because something about the scene is a bit weird."

"Weird?" Asked Ruby,

_It's a burnt building, of course it looks weird. _Thought Emma.

"Yeah" he held up a small bag, "this is what's weird."

Emma glanced at it for a moment "a match?"

"We found it on the floor, where the fire started." Explained Jasper,

"Why would he light a match in the middle of his shop?" Asked Emma "I didn't see any candles the last time I was there."

"Well, does he smoke?" Asked Jasper "maybe he was lighting a cigarette?"

"Not to my knowledge," Said Emma.

"AND if he just dropped a lit match, he would have had time to stamp the flame out before the fire spread. The result would be a small, black, mark on the floor, not this." Said Ruby, gesturing the the pawnshop.

"Maybe he was worried about damaging his fancy loafers." Muttered Jasper with distaste, "but, that's not the weird part." He pulled the match out of the bag and showed it to Emma "anything seem off to you?"

She glanced at it for a moment, "it's not burnt at all." Said Emma,

"Exactly" said Jasper. "Even if that's _not _what caused the fire; and I doubt it is, it's a small object, and it's made of wood! It should have burt to a crisp, along with most of the floor!"

_Enchanted matches? _Thought Emma, _I had better have a word with Gold- once he's out of the hospital. _From the corner of her eye, she thought she could see a blonde girl, standing on the other side of the road, watching the entire conversation unfold.

But as soon as she turned to get a better look, the girl was gone.

...

Emma had just arrived at work the next morning when the phone rang. She sighed with annoyance and answered it "hello?"

"Emma Swan?" Asked a voice on the other end.

"Yes" she replied.

"It's Dr. Whale, I'm calling from the hospital."

"Hello Dr." she said, "what is it?"

Whale sighed "It's about Mr. Gold, he's asked to see you."

"Why?" Asked Emma.

"Well, he says, and I quote, 'you may have an arsonist on your hands, dearie'."

"Arsonist?" Asked Emma, surprised.

"Yes. Did you think he started the fire by himself?"

"No, I thought it was an accident." She replied, "tell him I'll be there in an hour."

...

One hour later, Emma walked through the doors of Storybrooke's hospital. _I've got a bad feeling about this... _she thought. "Excuse me" she asked a stern nurse with iron gray hair. "I'm here to see Mr. Gold."

The nurse blinked twice, as if this request was absurd _"Mr. Gold?" _She asked.

"Yes, he asked to see me" said Emma.

The nurse ogled Emma for a long time, and then pointed to the left hallway, "room 28, if he's still there. He didn't have anything so serious that he'd have to stay in a burn unit for a long time, so he's free to leave at any time."

Emma thanked the nurse and walked in the direction of the room. Dr. Whale stood, expectantly, outside the door.

"Dr. Whale" said Emma.

He saw her, and nodded his head, "there you are."

"So, how is he?" She asked.

"Fine" said Whale. "He had second degree burns on his hands, a few first degree burns on his face and arms. Nothing that wont heal with time."

Emma nodded,

"Shall we?" Said Whale opening the door.

Emma stepped inside the small room. Unsurprisingly, there were no flowers or get well cards to speak of on any of the tables. Gold sat in a chair at the back of the room, "Miss Swan." He said, standing up.

"Hello, Gold." Said Emma. "You look well, I suppose."

His hands were bandaged in white linen, and he had a small, pink spot on the side of his face, apart from that, he appeared as if nothing had happened.

"So, let me get this straight. You called me because you believe I have an arsonist on my hands?" Asked Emma.

"Yes" said Gold, simply.

"As in, someone who starts fires for the fun of it?"

"...yes."

"What did this 'arsonist' look like?"

Gold thought for a moment, "she was a young girl, a child of about eleven or twelve. She had braided blonde hair, she wore a white dress, a tattered shawl and no shoes... And she had a scar running down her face."

"...Okay" said Emma. _She should be easy to find then. _"Did she say anything to you? Better yet, tell me what happened, from the beginning."

"It was late. I was alone in the shop, it was closed, and I heard someone speaking, almost singing. I looked around, but there was no one there, so I assumed it was just the wind, and then the door opened. The girl asked me if I was Mr. Gold, and I told her yes, but the store was closed for the night. She didn't budge, and said she wanted to talk to me. She asked me if I wanted matches, and when I said no, she asked again. Then she lit a match, and she dropped it."

"At the beginning, what did the sing-song voice, say?"

"Matches, matches, please buy my matches" remembered Gold

"...Had you ever seen her before?" Asked Emma.

Gold was hesitant with this answer "...no."

"No?" Asked Emma, pressing him further.

"No" said Gold, "she looked like someone I had met, but it just couldn't be."

"Why?"

Gold sighed, "because that girl died a long time ago; she froze to death, in a snow storm."


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for all of the reviews! The following chapter reveals stuff about the match girl's past. The big portion in italics is a flashback, not the exact words of Mr. Gold._

_Anyway, here's the next chapter!_

Chapter three

The two of them stood there for what felt like a very long time. It was Emma who finally broke the silence "…froze to death?"

He nodded grimly "yes, she couldn't take the cold anymore, she just, passed."

"How did you meet her?" Asked Emma.

"It was a long time ago" said Gold "before the curse. It wasn't exactly a pleasant encounter..."

_..._

_The small, bustling village was nothing special, in fact it couldn't have been more ordinary. The houses, nearly all of them log-cabins, were small and sturdy, most only had one room where the entire family slept, ate, and played. Around the village, people went about their daily errands, many with two or three children in tow. "Lord Fedor must have an easy time governing this place" muttered a hunched fellow in a brown cloak. Scattered about the streets were small stalls, each with its own vendor selling various wares. "Fresh fish!" A man bellowed from his small stall "get your tuna, your halibut, your trout!"_

_"Fine silks!" hollered a woman, from her greatly adorned cart, though hardly any of it was silk; most was flax, or cotton._

_"Matches" said a girl's voice. The cloaked man turned his head and glanced at the bearer. The barefoot child desperately tried to sell her boxes of matches, but most people didn't pay her any mind. "Matches" she said again "please buy my matches..." _

_A tall, swaggering fellow stepped over to the girl "are you still trying to sell those boxes of matches, little girl?"_

_"W-would you like some?" Asked the girl nervously. _

_"Sure kid." said the man, taking the box from her hands._

_"Two copper pieces please," she whimpered, clearly afraid of this man. _

_The man smirked, "I'll give you more if you do something else for me."_

_The girl stepped back, disgusted, he'd asked her this before. "No thanks, Crowe."_

_The man grunted with annoyance, tossed two copper coins at her, and walked away muttering to himself._

_The girl looked at the coins and grinned, as if two copper pieces were worth a fortune. She gathered her matches, and ran off to the fruit stall "one apple please." She asked, pleasantly. "Three copper pieces" said the seller. _

_The girl's smile vanished immediately, "do you have anything I can buy for two copper pieces?"_

_The vendor handed her two, very meager, sour plums, "two copper pieces." __The girl thought for a moment, and finally handed him the two copper pieces. She then ravenously forced one of the sour plums down her throat. _

_The cloaked figure turned away from her and continued to walk down the road. He was searching for someone, they had made a deal, but the other fellow had not kept up his end of the bargain._

_..._

_After learning from various sources that the fellow he was looking for had left town, (and for good reason) the cloaked figure walked down the street, searching for an inn. He had walked not ten yards when he was vaguely aware of a hand searching searching his pocket. He snatched it the way a hawk snatches up a mouse, "Ah, ah, ah!" He scolded, turning to face the pickpocket; it was the same girl he had seen selling matches earlier that day. "That was very naughty of you, little match girl."_

_The girl's face was coated with fear; she had been caught. She would be put in the stockade the next day, and then no one would buy matches from her, she knew it. "I-I'm sorry sir, I-" she felt the grip on her hand tighten, _

_"You're only sorry that you got caught." She could barely see the man's face under the thick hood, not thinking, she screamed at the top of her lungs, and the cloaked figure reached right into her chest. The screaming immediately ceased and was replaced with a sickly choking sound. _

_He sighed with exagerated patience "I'm not sure if you realize this, dearie, but right now, I am holding on to your heart." Said the man. The girl stiffly nodded, he gave the heart a little tug,"and I could take it from you, if I wanted to." The girl gave a choked sob, this man was going to kill her now. "What is your name, match girl?" He asked, looking her up and down._

_"Va-Vanessa!" She choked out, "my name is Vanessa." The man retracted his hand, without removing her heart. _

_"My name, is Rumpelstiltskin, otherwise known as, the Dark One." Said the man. __Vanessa gasped, and took a step back. "So, you've heard of me?" _

_Vanessa nodded ferverently, "are you... going to kill me now?" She asked weakly. Rumpelstiltskin leaned forward, his reptillian eyes staring directly into her's; he couldn't help but notice that one was dark blue and one was milky white. "No" he said, the girl did not look relieved. "Had I wanted to, I already would have. I have bigger fish to fry, but that can wait." He stuck out a gloved hand, "give me everything that you've stolen today" Vanessa sighed, defeated, and removed several small objects from her pockets. Most of them were coins, and small objects like rings. Her hand lingered in her pocket, as if clutching onto some larger object. "I said everything" said Rumpelstiltskin. "What are you hiding in your pocket?"_

_"It's mine!" said Vanessa, "I didn't steal it, it's mine!"_

_"Let me see it."_

_Vanessa stared at him for a long time, and then reached into her pocket, and pulled out what appeared to be a small doll, but refused to hand it to him. "It's mine; it belonged to my mother, I swear I didn't steal it." She put it back into her pocket, "so, can I go now?"_

_"No."_

_Vanessa stared at her feet, "what do you want now?"_

_"Is there an inn around here?" He asked. _

_"Uh, yes, just down the road." She said, pointing down the dark street. "NOW can I go?" _

_"Fine" He said, "now, run off, little match girl, before I change my mind!" _

_She quickly rushed off down the road, and Rumpelstiltskin walked away, scheming to himself._

...

"So, you asked Vanessa for directions, and that was the end of it?" Asked Emma, "you forgot the part where she froze to death!"

"There's not much to tell," said Gold. "It snowed three feet that winter, the poor girl didn't have anywhere to go. I saw her, just before she died, huddled in an alley, lighting matches in a feeble attempt to stay warm. But frostbite got the better of her, and by the next morning she had passed."

Emma nodded "quite tragic. So if it's not that girl, then who do you think it is?"

"I have no idea" said Gold.

"Well, I had better go now." Said Emma, "if you think of anything, please call me at work." And with that, she exited the hospital.

_Who would want to kill Gold? _She thought as she walked back to work _then again, who wouldn't?_

Several hours later, Mr. Gold left the hospital and headed home. He was surprised to see a note, sitting, curled up in front of the door. He bent down to pick it up and unrolled it. Written on it were the words

SIN OF OMISSION, RUMPELSTILTSKIN! Taped to the bottom of the page was a match;

A spent one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

It was seven o'clock in the evening, Emma Swan was leaving work for the day. She passed by Gold's shop, and wrinkled her nose with disgust. It still smelled like charcoal on an old grill. _That's going to take months to repair, _she thought. She squinted "huh?" She realized that there was a small light moving around in the window. _Has Gold decided to tempt fate? _She walked up to the door, and was about to knock, when she heard voices on the other side.

"...didn't work!" Said a feminine voice,

"I know" said a much deeper, gravelly voice "it's alright, he just got lucky."

"I...I don't know if I can do this!"

There was a long pause "I don't believe it!" Shouted the dark voice "After what that man did to you, to us, you would just, give up so easily?!"

Emma peeked through the keyhole. On the other side of the door, she saw the back of a young girl. In front of the girl Emma could just barely make out the shadow of a tall, bulky figure.

"Alright, I'll...try." Muttered the girl.

"Good" purred the other voice, "you may go now." The girl nodded and left through a side door.

Emma quickly stood to the side of the door and pretended as if she hadn't seen anything. The girl walked around the corner, smiling as if nothing had happened. Emma stared at her, she had blonde, braided hair, blue eyes, a white dress, a tattered shawl, bare feet, and a long scar running down the side of her face. _She fits Gold's description perfectly. _Thought Emma.

"Hey!" She shouted, the girl didn't seem to hear, "hey..._ Vanessa!" _

The girl finally stopped, "I've been called that before" she said, turning around, "but not by you. Hello, Miss Swan."

Emma stopped "how do you know my name?"

"Isn't that what _Rumpelstiltskin _calls you?" she said, spitting the name out as if it would poison her.

"Why do you want him dead, Vanessa?" Asked Emma

"Oh, you mean he didn't tell you? I can't say I'm surprised." Vanessa said.

"So, you're saying he's lying?" Asked Emma.

"No" said Vanessa "what he told you was true, but it's what he didn't tell you that was..." she looked over Emma's shoulder "oh, on second thought, why don't you ask him yourself?" She pulled out a match and lit it.

"Emma, get back!" A voice behind her shouted. Vanessa dropped the match,

"Whoa!" Emma jumped back, away from the flame. The fire blazed for only a moment, and then Vanessa was gone.

"God, I hate those things..." someone behind her muttered. Emma turned around.

"Gold, how long have you been standing there!?" She asked

"Long enough" he said "are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Said Emma. "Wait a second." She gasped, _Vanessa, she responded to the name Vanessa. _"Gold" she said, scrutinizing him, "are you absolutely sure that Vanessa died that day?"

Gold sighed, "to be perfectly honest, no."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I saw her, lying in the snow and she appeared to stop breathing; but I didn't see her burial, or what became of her after that."

Emma inwardly groaned "well, I think it's her."

Gold gave her a funny look "what?"

"I think that girl may be Vanessa." Said Emma

"May I ask why?"

"Because I called her Vanessa, and she told me 'I've been called that before, but not by you.'" Emma narrowed her eyes "she also said that you were hiding something from me."

"Hiding something?" He was caught, she knew it.

"Yes, specifically the reason why she wants to kill you. Speaking of which, she and another guy were just in your shop, talking. He was encouraging her to try again."

"What did this, 'other guy' look like?" He asked.

"I couldn't really tell, all I saw was a shadow. He was a big guy, bulky with a gravelly voice, that's all I could tell."

"Bulky man with a gravelly voice" murmured Gold, thinking.

"Hey" said Emma "you still haven't elaborated on _why _she wants to kill you?"

"That's because I'm not sure, dearie." He said evenly.

"You're not _sure, _or you just _don't want to tell me?" _Asked Emma.

"I think we can solve this mess right now" said Gold, abruptly changing the subject.

"How?" Asked Emma,

"With a, change in the weather" said Gold. A cold breeze blew past them

"How is a little breeze going to stop her from lighting a few enchanted matches?" Asked Emma, shivering.

"It's not the wind that's going to stop her" said Gold "I'll give you a clue; she has no shoes, no warm place to go to, and a box of exploding matches which only work well if she has another source of dry wood."

"Alright Gold, what's about to happen?"

"You'll see" said Gold "and I hope you own a heavy coat Miss Swan; because Storybrooke is in for a particularly nasty winter."

By the time Emma had returned home that night, the first of the snowflakes were just beginning to fall.

...

"Hey everyone" said Emma walking through the day.

"Hi Emma" said Snow, her mother, who was standing at the back of this room "can you believe this weather? I can't remember the last time it snowed here!"

"Me neither" said Emma, _Gold, this had better work. _She thought.

"Hi!" Said Henry, walking down the stairs.

"Henry" said Emma "listen, I need to see your book."

"Why?" Asked Henry,

"I need to find out the story of someone here." Said Emma

"Um, okay" said Henry, rushing back upstairs to retrieve the book, and then rushing back down again.

"What's the person's name?" Asked Henry, opening the book.

"Well, I sort of know who she is. She's the little match girl." She said,

"The little ma-" said Henry, he suddenly realized something "Rumpelstiltskin."

"What about him?" Asked Emma.

"You've been pulled into finding out who set his shop on fire, and he didn't tell you something, so you're trying to find out yourself, right?" Asked Henry.

Emma raised her hands above her head "guilty, as charged."

Henry smiled triumphantly, and skimmed through the book, "little match girl, little match girl, little match girl..." he muttered. His hand stopped on one page, "here it is!"

Emma glimpsed at the story for a moment, "is that her?" Asked Henry, pointing at the drawing. It depicted a young girl with loose blonde hair, she had one blue eye and one milky white. She clutched a tiny doll in one hand, and a skull with glowing eyes in the other; sticking out of her pocket was a box of matches.

"Add the scar, braid her hair and make this eye blue, and that's her." Said Emma, "but why is there a house on chicken feet in the background!?"

* * *

_Feel free to PM me if you know who the match girl is! (As with a few other characters in OUAT; she is a combination of more than one fairy tale character.) I want to see if many people know this story other than me! (I'm nearly always the only one at school who does!) Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had severe writer's block with this story! But here's the next chapter._

Chapter five

"Vasilisa, the fair" said Henry.

"What?" Said Emma "Gold said that her name was Vanessa..."

"Well, he lied" said Henry "or he made a mistake, either way, that girl's name is Vasilisa; and that hut in the background belongs to-" Henry turned a page in the book "-her." He pointed at a picture of a bony-legged woman with scraggly white hair, sharp yellow eyes that glowed in the dark, a tattered orange gown and jewelry made out of what appeared to be human bones, teeth, and fingernails. She rode a mortar and pestle in the same way the Wicked Witch of the West rode a broomstick.

"Baba Yaga" said Henry.

"Who's she?" Asked Emma

"A witch" said Henry "she lived alone, in a forest. She lived in a little a hut on chicken feet; she liked to eat children, and yes, those are real bones and fingernails she's wearing."

"A witch?" Asked Emma "Gold left out a lot of stuff then; he didn't say anything about a witch..."

"He likes to play with words you know" said Snow, standing up "when he 'told you' what had happened, did you ask him to tell you everything?"

"No" said Emma "I just asked him what had happened between him and the match girl..." Emma paged through the book, eyes wide. She grabbed her coat, "I have to go and talk to him..."

"Not right now!" Said Henry, "look!" He pointed out the window; Gold hadn't just brought a light dusting of snow to Storybrooke, he had brought a blizzard.

Emma stared out the window for a second, "great." She muttered, "yeah, this'll probably bring Vanes-_Vasilisa _out of hiding, assuming the hypothermia doesn't kill her first!" She groaned "good plan, Gold."

"Rumpelstiltskin did _this!?" _Asked Henry, gesturing out the window.

"Yes, or that's what he wants me to believe, either way..."

It was at that moment that Emma's father, David, burst into the house, his shoulders were soaking wet, some snowflakes remained. "We've got a blizzard on our hands!"

"We've noticed" said Emma.

"I hope it clears up soon." Said David.

...

It was all over by the next morning. A thick layer of snow coated the ground, at least three feet of it. The family sat around the table, eating a warm breakfast of scrambled eggs. "This does not look like a pleasant day to go for a walk..." Muttered Snow, glancing out the window.

"Do we have any snowplows?" Asked Emma,

"We have _a _snowplow" said Snow, shivering, "but it's going to be a few hours before all of the roads are plowed."

Emma sat on the couch, "then, we wait."

...

By about nine o'clock, the first of the roads had been plowed. Ruby was just leaving home as her Granny had insisted on opening the café, because "everyone could use a warm meal, today of all days." She walked down the street, when she heard something, a muffled whimper.

"Hmm?" She said, looking around; there was no one there. Her ears pricked up, and she followed the sound to where it was coming from; and saw a small figure, curled up, skinny frame wrapped tightly in a blanket. "Hey!" Shouted Ruby, walking towards the small bundle, which turned out to be a girl. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked, giving her a quick shake, the girl certainly did not look okay.

Her face was almost blue from the cold; her dress and blanket were wet and did little to nothing to shield her from the snow. She did not wear gloves or shoes, and the expression on her face suggested illness. She gave a little shake of the head which may have been a feeble attempt at "no."

Ruby pulled the girl out of the snow; she was too weak to protest. Suddenly, a little box next to where the girl had been lying caught Ruby's eye. _Matches? _Thought Ruby, picking the box up from the ground, _I wonder…_ "Come on, let's get you someplace warm." Ruby dragged the girl into the café, Ruby's Granny turned around and immediately saw the girl. "What happened to her was there an accident?"

"Granny, call an ambulance! This girl's very sick!" The elderly woman nodded and ran to pick up the phone.

Ruby sat the girl down in the chair, "what's your name, honey?"

The girl, who appeared almost sleepy from hypothermia, groaned "Vanessa…Vanessa Sarafino."

"Any parents?" Asked Ruby, the girl shook her head, "no."

"Granny, can you sit with her?" Asked Ruby, "I need to call Emma."

That name clearly meant something to Vanessa "no" she tried to stand "I need to go…"

"You're not going anywhere," said Granny, gently but firmly pushing Vanessa back into the chair.

Ruby picked up the phone and walked into the back room.

"Hello?" Said a voice on the other end,

"Emma, its Ruby."

"Hey Ruby, what is it?"

"Those matches found at Gold's shop" said Ruby, opening the box of matches; sure enough it was two short of a full set, "was there anything special about them? Like, a brand name stamped on the box?" Not that this would have helped as the box was unadorned.

"Well, yeah" said Emma, "no matter how often you light it, it won't get any smaller." Said Emma, directly quoting Mr. Gold, "why?"

"I found a girl outside the shop in an alley; she was carrying a box of matches, similar to the one we saw at Gold's shop."

"What does she look like?!" Asked Emma, excited.

"Uh, blonde hair, white dress, no shoes, a scar…"

"That's her!"

"That's who?"

"She set Gold's shop on fire!"

There was a long pause. "I'll explain later," said Emma, "wait, strike one of the matches."

"Okay" said Ruby, picking up a match and lighting it,

"Now blow it out!"

Ruby did as she was told, "Is the end charred at all?" Asked Emma

"…No" said Ruby, staring at the match stick for a long time.

"Is she still there?"

"Yeah, but the ambulance is on its way, she's sick; meet me at the hospital in 15 minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

...

Emma was the first to hang up. "She's been found." She said, turning to the group.

"Vasilisa?" Asked Henry,

"Yeah, she's at the cafe, but she's being taken to the hospital." Emma picked up her coat, "I'd better get going."

"Good luck."

...

Ruby stood, impatiently, in the hospital lobby as Emma walked through the door. "Emma, you're here!" Shouted Ruby.

"How is she?" Asked Emma,

"Not good- better than we thought though." Said Ruby, "the doctor says she has moderate hypothermia, the odds are in her favor, but only time will tell if she pulls through." She glanced to the right, "and, somebody else came here before we did."

Emma turned to her right, standing near the door was Mr. Gold. "Hello, dearie." He said, with an uncharacteristically blank expression.

"You...planned this!" Shouted Emma, walking purposefully towards him.

"Of course I did." He said simply,

"If that girl dies..." Started Emma,

"Oh, she's not going to die..." he looked at the door, about two seconds later a young nurse rushed out, smiling from ear to ear.

"She's going to pull through!" She said to Gold, "she'll have the shivering-shakes for a while, but she'll be okay!"

Gold forced a smile, "that's wonderful." He said simply "may we go see her?"

"In just a moment" the nurse went back inside, they heard the sound of muffled talking, and then the nurse came back out. "You can come back in now; she's asleep though."

"Thank you." Said Gold, he gave Emma a look that said "follow me" and the two of them stepped inside.

"Vanessa?" Asked the nurse in a whisper, she gave Emma and Gold a nod and left.

Vanessa lay on the bed in an almost comatose sleep. Her long blonde hair trailed off of the cot in tight, matted clumps. She was peaceful, and almost silent.

Emma turned to Gold "okay, Gold. Come clean with me right now; what really happened that night?"

"What?" Asked Gold,

"That girl's name is not Vanessa, it's Vasilisa; and there's more that you haven't told me..." Snapped Emma,

Gold nodded, "the book..." He turned to face her, "yes, her name is Vasilisa; but at the time she told me that her name was Vanessa."

"And the witch?" Asked Emma,

Gold sighed, "very well, I suppose this is what she meant by 'sin of omission.'"

And before Emma could ask when "sin of omission" had come up, he began.

...

_Vasilisa stared at her feet, "what do you want now?"_

_"Is there an inn around here?" Asked Rumpelstiltskin. _

_"Uh, yes, just down the road." She said, pointing down the dark street. _

_"Walk with me." He said, Vasilisa cringed, clearly she didn't like that idea but she obeyed nonetheless. _

_She lit a match, "that's a bit better, I wish I had a lantern." She muttered, walking down the street, following the reptilian man down the dark streets. A squat building with broken windows sat at the side of the road, the sign read "Crescent Moon Inn." "Here we are." She said, opening the door. _

_The Inn was probably the shadiest place in the village. People sat at the tables, clinking tall flagons of beer as a scantilly dressed waitress with too much makeup and black pigtails walked around, playfully flirting with some of the men._

_"I'm sorry, but it's the only Inn we have." Said Vasilisa, with a hint of glee in her voice at the prospect of causing her tormentor any type of discomfort; she glanced at the waitress "Polly isn't so bad, it's the fleas that'll get to you!" She gave a little shiver._

_ He glanced behind Polly at a tall, beefy man with greying hair and a sizeable beard. "Dearie, who is that?" He asked, pointing at the man. _

_"Oh, that's Mr. Davis, the Innkeeper; not a very nice man either." Replied Vasilisa, _

_"Do you think that you could steal the key tied around his neck?" He asked, gesturing to the large bronze key tied to the piece of rope around his neck._

_Vasilisa gave him a confused look "all that key leads to is the wine cellar; why would you want that key?"_

_"That's my business, dearie." He replied, "do you think that you could steal his key?"_

_Vasilisa thought for a moment, "...maybe, but I'd have to wait until he was asleep; and he never takes it off, even then!"_

_Rumpelstiltskin thought for a moment "...steal that key for me." He said, as if still considering it. _

_"What?" Asked Vasilisa, "why would I do that!? I've already kept up my end of the deal..." _

_"How's this for a deal?" He asked. He pointed at her one, milky eye, "you can't see out of that eye, can you?"_

_She self-conciously covered her eye with one hand, "...no" she said,_

_"Steal that key, and I'll fix your eye." _

_Vasilisa stared at him in amazement "you could do that?"_

_"Yes" He said, "get me that key by noon tomorrow and I'll fix your eye, if not, I'll pretend this conversation never happened, and the eye will stay as it is."_

_..._

"...But, why would the key to a wine cellar interest you?" Asked Emma, cutting him off,

"He had an alterior motive..." groaned a voice behind them, it was at that moment that Vasilisa the Fair woke up.


End file.
